Sunderland fell to a defeat against Bristol City on Good Friday

Sunderland fell to another Championship defeat at Bristol City but the manner of this one will mean the mood is very different.

The Black Cats were forced to play with over 80 minutes with ten minute after a very controversial early red for Trai Hume, and there was much in their performance thereafter to take heart from when it comes to the play-offs next month.

After all the talk of momentum and concerns over poor form, Sunderland fans will have been reassured by the way their team started the game. With Enzo Le Fee back in midfield, Sunderland were moving the ball quickly and looked bright, undone when Luke O'Nien misjudged a simple long ball through the middle of the pitch. Trai Hume challenged Nakhi Wells and the contact was minimal, but the striker went down and the referee reached immediately for his red card.

The game had been turned on its head in a moment, Bristol City going close to scoring with a couple of dangerous long-range efforts in the moments after the red. Sunderland, though, steadied. Le Bris had acted quickly on the sideline, switching to a 4-4-1 shape that saw Dan Neil drop into the centre of defence. Sunderland slowed the game down and began to minimise

Though they were offering little attacking threat, some dangerous runs forward from Eliezer Mayenda showed some promise. That paid off spectacularly when Mayenda beat two Bristol City players near the halfway line, driving all the way into the box before firing past O'Leary after some very good footwork. It was a stunning individual goal that silenced Ashton Gate.

Sunderland did have some lucky escapes as the half developed, with Pring in particular missing one big chance when he turned away from Luke O'Nien but fired wide. Bristol City did also have the ball in the net after George Earthy scored following an excellent Anthony Patterson save, but the offside flag was raised. Sunderland almost made it two when Mayenda did superbly to take down a long ball, teeing up Patrick Roberts who drew an excellent save from O'Leary.

Almost from the off, the second half was a completely different contest. Liam Manning made an aggressive substitution in bringing on Yu Hirakawa, and his pace and crossing from the right gave the hosts an outlet they'd previously lacked. The intensity and tempo on the ball was noticeably better from The Robins, who began to push Sunderland right back towards their own goal. The openings were starting to come with regularity and the equaliser felt like something of an inevitability. It still took a stunning strike to break the Black Cats down, centre half Ron Dickie firing into the top corner from more than 20 yards.

Sunderland had lost the outlet they had through the first half and it meant that they couldn't really break the pressure. The second goal came when Sunderland were unable to clear a low ball into their box, McCrorie breaking onto a loose ball and thumping an effort past Patterson from close range.

Sunderland struggled to really make an impact after that and given the way they stepped up in the second half to take advantage of the extra player, Bristol City deserved the win that takes them closer to a play-off spot.

But there were positives for Sunderland to take here: Dan Neil superb in central defence and Chris Mepham alongside him. The organisation and spirit in trying circumstances was clear and bodes well for the play-offs.

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